A lifelong dancer and musician, Emmy-nominated Mark Ballas has wowed over 20 million viewers on ABC's number one show, Dancing with the Stars, for 11 seasons. No stranger to the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy, he is a two-time champion (Season 6 with Kristi Yamaguchi and Season 8 with Shawn Johnson) and caused a media frenzy when he took performance newcomer Bristol Palin all the way to the finals in Season 11 and re-partnered with her in Season 14.
Ballas garnered a 2011 Creative Arts Emmy nomination for Outstanding Choreography for his creative pieces during Season 12, where he and his partner, Disney star Chelsea Kane, made it to the finals, finishing in third place. In season 13, he and his partner, Welsh singing sensation Katherine Jenkins, made it to the finals, finishing in second place. He competed in over fifteen seasons of the show.
In April 2011, Ballas's debut solo album, HurtLoveBox, was released by Hit Play Records - Sony Red. His first single, "Hotwire," was the winner of MTV's Freshman Five for 2011 and was put in rotation on the network. It has received over 100 million documented views and appeared on feature reels in over 100,000 retail and business locations worldwide. Ballas was named the Clear Channel "Artist to Watch" in July 2011.
As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. Ballas also played an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as part of the Hufflepuff House.
Ballas was the final actor to portray the role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys before it closed in 2017. He played the role of Teen Angel in the 2018 Toronto revival of Grease, and portrayed Charlie Price in the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway in 2018.
When Ballas isn't performing, he is passionate about speaking to children about acceptance. When he was young, he and his family were forever altered by the suicide of his uncle, David. Ballas and his mother, Shirley (David's sister), formed The Ballas Foundation in the fall of 2010, which is committed to removing the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide by raising money, awareness, and volunteerism in support of suicide awareness.
The Ballas Foundation seeks to promote a public health model along with a media campaign to raise awareness of suicide. The foundation uses an educational approach to dispel the myths about suicide, and improve the availability and access to resources, which foster prevention and awareness.
While suicide is a somber and sometimes taboo subject, Ballas's discussions with school children are upbeat, uplifting, and fun, and he delivers his message in a light manner that is easy to absorb. While on his 50-city acoustic tour in the winter of 2012, he carved out time to visit schools in each city to discuss this topic. Ballas believes that if we accept everyone for who they are, we will pave the way for all children to grow into themselves and flourish in life.
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Mark Ballas Biography
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